Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli’s visit to a gigantic complex for the making of different types of vaccines offered an insight into national vaccine making aspirations.
Located in 6th of October City, on the outskirts of Cairo, the VACSERA vaccine complex will stands on 6,000 square metres. The complex, now under construction, is to start operating by the end of November this year, the prime minister said.
When it is operational, the complex will produce three million vaccine doses a day – one billion doses a year, he added.
The complex is being constructed with the aim of satisfying the nation’s vaccine needs, he said.
“We hope that we can export vaccines to our brothers and sisters in Africa and in the Arab region,” he told a press briefing, following his tour of the complex.
Egypt has already started local production of the Chinese Sinovac vaccine under license from the Chinese company.
The vaccine is now widely used in the public rollout of Covid-19 vaccines in Egypt’s bid to immunise the public.
Egyptian pharmaceutical institutions, including VACSERA, are also preparing to produce the Russian Sputnik V vaccine locally, after signing an agreement with the company.
During his tour of the vaccines complex in 6th October City, the prime minister revealed that Egypt will produce eight different types of vaccines to serve the domestic market and markets in Africa and the Arab region.
Specialists say, meanwhile, that Egypt has whatever it takes to become a regional vaccine making hub.
“Egypt has the ability to produce Covid-19 medicines for its people,” said Ahmed el-Ezabi, the head of the Medicines Section at the Federation of Industries.
“I expect new vaccines factories to be established next year so that we can produce the amount of vaccines we need,” a local newspaper quoted him as saying.
Egypt used to produce vaccines, but local production stopped a few years ago.
When Covid-19 emerged, Egypt depended heavily on vaccine imports, but waited a long time for its first vaccine shipment, although it was the first African nation to join experiment on the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine.
Nonetheless, the Egyptian political leadership believes that Egypt cannot always depend on imports, which is why the government has concluded a number of deals for the local production of the vaccines.
This local production, specialists say, will help health authorities widen the scope of the vaccine rollout and immunise the largest number of people against the disease.
So far, Egypt has treated over two million people for Covid-19, said Minister of Health and Population Hala Zayed.
Egypt hopes that it can vaccinate 40 per cent of the population of 100 million against Covid-19 before the end of this year.
This and other goals can be easily achieved with the localisation of Covid-19 vaccine manufacture, specialists said.
“Egypt’s keenness to localise the vaccine industry shows that it is capable of competing in this very important field,” said Ahmed Idriss, a member of the Pharmacology Section at the Federation of Commerce Chambers.
“Egypt was the first country in Africa to manufacture vaccines in the past and it is now capable of providing the continent with its needs of these vaccines,” he added.
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